USPTO Defends Charging Attys' Fees At Full Fed. Circ.

Law360, Washington (March 8, 2018, 6:39 PM EST) -- The U.S. patent office insisted before an en banc panel of the Federal Circuit on Thursday that the agency was well within its rights in 2015 when it suddenly began making patent applicants cover all legal costs associated with challenges to patent denials in federal district court, upending 170 years of established practice.

An 1839 law passing “all expenses” on to patent applicants bringing challenges de novo to district court —win, lose or draw — was properly expanded to include government attorneys' fees, the U.S. Patent...